Windshield cleaner



Patented Jan. 1s, 1927;..

UNITED STATES PATENT oEFlcE,

EARL F. PIERCE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BYX1911115151111v ASSIGNMENTS, TO I TRIGO PRODUCTS CORPORATION, OF B NEW rom;

Application mea February My invention relates to improvements` in windshield cleaners, and is particularly con' cerned with, though not limited to, ,Windshield cleaners of the type which is operated by a motor. A

The objects of my invention are,

First, to provide a motor operated windshield cleaner comprising a wiper arm, a motor, and connections between said Wiper arm and motor of suchcharacter that the speed of the wiper arm is independent 0fthe' speed of the motor;

Second,"to provide a windshield cleaner of the character described in which the speed of the motor can be varied, thus varying the number of strokes of the wiper arm at a given period of time but not changing the speedV at which said wiperarm operates;

Third, to provide a motor driven Windshield cleaner comprising a wiper arm,a

motor, and driving connections between the` wiper arm and motor comprising a spring adapted to be tensioned-by said motor over a given period of time, and means for causing the tension of the spring thus tensionedA comprising a power plant mounted upon one support, and a cleaner element movably mounted upon another support, therebeing driving connections between the power plant yand the cleaner element, and a Seventh, to provide a windshield cleaner which is compact, efficient, rugged, and economical to manufacture.

Other objects will appear as this descrip- -tion progresses, reference being had to the A accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 isa front elevation of a windshield provided with my improved windshield cleaner whichA is shown ink plan view,

UFFALO, NEWA YORK, A CORPORATION OF WINDSHIELD CLEANER.

9, 1922. seriaj Nb. 535,368.

the topV of the housing or casing being broken away for the Apurpose of better illustration;

Figure 2 is alongitudinal section -taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

` Figure 3 is a transverse elevation taken on line 3 3 of Figures-1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure l but upon reduced scale, and showing two wiper arms operated by the same power plant; l l

Figure 5 is a plan view of a modified form of my invention adapted to be electrically operated; `i

Figure 6 is a side elevation thereof with portions of the housing broken away;

Figure 7 is a transverse section taken on line 7 7 of Figure', and

Figure 8 is a plan view of a still further different embodiment of my invention, the cover having been removed.

Throughout the several views, similar referenee characters will be used for referring to similar parts, and the several sections are -taken looking in the direction of the small arrows.

Referring forrthe present to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, my improved windshield cleaner comprisesa base plate 10, which is adapt.- ed to be secured to the frame 11 of the windshield by means of screws 12, or in any other suitable manner. Adjacent one end of the base plate 10 a low boss 13 projects outwardly from the base plate. A bore extends through the base plate and boss 13. shaft 14 is journaled in the bore just referred to and has secured to its outer end the crank disc 15 from which the eccentric pin 16 projects outwardly.

-An annular ratchet gear 17 is journaled upon the boss 13 and is held upon the boss by a' portion-of the crank disk 15 which overhangs the boss, as sho'wn in Figure 2. Apin 18 projects outwardly from the annular gear. The outer ends of the pin 18 and eccentric ,pin 16 are connected by a tension spring 19, which, in Figures 1,' 2 and 3, is shown in substantially its completely extended position.

With the spring tensioned, as shown in Figure 1,.there is, of course, a movement The g developed which tends to rotate the dise 15 and its attached shaft 111 about their common axis. .To prevent such rotation and to hold theseelei'nents against rotation while 5 thespring 15 is being placed under tension, l provide the locking and releasing pin 2O which extends through va suitable opening in the crank disc and 'into a correspond# ing opening 21 formed in the edge of the 10 boss 13 (see Figure '2). The inner end of the pin projects into the opening 21 but 4a very slight distance. The edge of the boss 13 is cut away to provide, between it and the adjacent'wall of the annular gear 17, a 15 groove 22 which is slightly less in depth thanthe opening 21, and which ends in another opening211similar to the opening 21. Thefunction of this opening will presently be explained.

'A leat spring 23 has one end contined between the projecting boss 24 ot' the crank disetand the collar 25 on the pin 16. ,The other end of the spring projects outwardly i beyond the periphery of the crank disc and, 25 as shown at 26, the pin 20 is secured to the leal:l spring 23 at a point adjacent its outer end and tends to push the pin `20 inwardly.

gear 17 is cut away to provide an annular shoulder 26 which is substantially on a level with the face of the crank dise 15, and from this shoulder project the two cams 28 and 29. These cams slope somewhat gradually in the direction of rotation of the annular gear 17, which is indicated by the arrow i'n Figure 1, and somewhat more abruptly in the opposite direction.

A pulley 30 is secured to the inner end of the shat't 14 in any suitable manner. T he 40 inner end ot the shaft 11 is provided with an opening 31 adjacent its inner end in which the inner end of the wiper arm 32 is secured by means of a set screw 33.

Referring to the constructionthus far` described, it will beclear that if the annular gear 17 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as indicated in Figure 1, the cam 28 will'raise the outer end ot' the spring 23, thereby releasing the inner end ot' the pin 2O from the opening 21, and will permit the crank disc 15, the shatt 14, and the wiper arm 32 to rotate under the tension of the 'spring 19. This rotation is accomplished in a compiiratively short period ot time. and

causes the cleaner element ifi-t, which is secured to the outer end of the wiper arm 32, to travel over the 'face of the windshield 35 and clean the same. 'l`he cleaner element 81 can be constructed in the usual manner from a channel shaped piece. of metal and the usual squcegee strip. The parts just describetil are so proportioned in design that the tension ot the spring will pull the crank disc around to such position that the pin 35 Lfl, under the intluence ol the leal spring 23,

The inner edge ot the annular" will, after moving through the are defined by the groove- 22 upon the bottom of which the pill 2O slides, drop into the opening 21 and` again lock the crank disc 15 and its connected parts againstrotation.

In this position of the crank-dise, the pin 16 will have traveled through an are equal to the angle of rotation of the crank disc 15, and will now lie upon the opposite side of a vertical diameter passing through the cent-er of the disc, in Figure 1, a distance substantially equal to the distance that is shown to the right ofthis diameter in Figure 1. The annularv gear 17, continuing to rotate, will soon reach a point where the spring 19 begins to again be placed under tension, and will continue to rotate until the pin 1S reaches a position substantially directly opposite, in a horizontal direction,

the position which it now occupies, at which time the cam 29 will move under the projecting end 26 of the leaf spring 23 and release the pin20 from the opening 21 whereupon the tension of the spring'lf) will cause the crank disc 15 and its associated parts l'to rotate inta direction opposite to its previous rotation until the pin 20 again snaps into the opening 2l, thereby again locking the dise 15 against rotation.

' As loneV as the annular (fear 17 continues to rotate in the direction ofsthe arrow in Figure 1, it will be clear that the disc 15 and its associated parts will be rotated, first in one direction, and then in the other, andthat the time required for rotation in either direction will depend solely upon the tension of the spring 19, it being assumed that the resistance to the movement ofthe wiper arm 32 remains substantially constant, and that .this speed of rotation will in no wise beldependent upon the speed of the annular gear 17. It is true that the number ot strokes of the wiper arm during a gven interval of time will be dependent upon the speed of rotation of the annular gear 17, but, as stated above, the time required for such stroke or strokes willremain constant, irrespective otthe speed of the gear 17.

This feature of my invention is, in com? parison with the operation ot the motor driven windshield cleaners now appearing on the market, of considerable importance, for in the operation of these latterl devices, if an attempt is made to decrease the number of .strokes of the wiper arm during a given period of time` the speed ot the wiper arm .will be correspondingly decreased. 1Vith my construction, the speed of the wiper arm can be made anything desired, depending` as it does. upon the tension of the spring 19, and it will remain constant. independent of the speed of the motor. This is desirable because a slowly moving wiper arm obscures. for' a certain period of time, the drivers field of vision. lith a rapidly ers in which the wiper element traversed the moving Wiper arm, this objection does not exist.

One objection to the pivoted type of cleaner heretofore in use is that the field of vision which is provided is so small that the driver is unable to see vehicles entering his street from side streets located upon the opposite side .ofthe car from the driver. To overcome this difficulty, it has heretofore been proposed to provide various types of cleanentire length of the windshield, either verti- 'cally or horizontally, but these devices have been unsatisfactory on account of thexceedf ingly long travel of the'wiper element. Furthermore, with the type of pivoted cleaner at present iniuse, it is impracticable to operate more than one cleaner, because with this type of cleaner the motor must supply at any instant all the power required at that instant for operating the Wlper element. This means that if an attempt should be made to operate two pivoted cleaners at the same\ time, the motors of the present type would have to be substantiallyy twice .as large as `they noware, and positioned as they are upon the windshield, they would seriously obstruct the field of Avision of the driver. With my construction, the energy of the motorl is accumulated during a protracted period of time which makes it possible to use two pivoted cleaners without requiring a motor of excessivedimensi'ons.

In my present construction, I have shown a second wiper arm 32 which is secured t the inner end of a shaft 14 carried by' a suitable bracket or support 10, which is se- .municating movement from thepulley 30 to cured to the frame 11 of the windshield by screws 12. The pulley 30, similar to the pulley 30, is mounted upon the shaft 14 and secured thereto. A s ueegee element 34', similar to 3 4,is secure Lto the outerend of the wiper arm 32. Y For the purpose of com-v the pulleyA 30 and' its associated wiper arm 32 and squeegee element 34,.I provide the two flexible elements 35. The ends of these elements are anchored to the respective pul-4 leysA by being inserted ink suitable radial bores in the pulleys, as shown in Figure 2. With the above construction, it will bel apparent I' that the wiper arm 32 will oscillate in uni.-

son with the wiper arm 32. The two wiper arms may be so positloned that their arcs base plate carrying the wiper arm 32 that eachvwiper arm will provide a separate field of vision. one Yat one side of the windshield,

and the otherat the other side. f

I shall now describe the motor by whichI propose to actuate the above described lec'hy the ratchet gear 17. will overlap, as shown in Figure 4, or the Asupport 10 Ymay'be located so far from the in any other position easily accessible to the driver. The piston 43 is slidably mounted in the cylinder 40 Vand is provided with a hollow` piston rod 44 which extends out. wardly through the cylindery head 45. This head is provided with ,a plurality of spaced apertures 46 to provide free access of air to piston. AA valve 47 the v outer face of the closes the outer end of the bore 48 ofthe piston rod 44 and is yieldingly held in its closed position by means of the spring 49 which is confined lbetween the outer face of the valve 47 -and the end 50 ofcthe cap 51, which is secured to the outer end of the piston rod 44. The cap 51 is provided adjacent its outer end with a' plurality of apertures 52 which exi tend through its walls to permit atmospheric pressure to be exerted on the ,outer face of thervalve 47. A spiral spring 53 tends to force the piston 43 outwardly in the cylinder, and a second spiral spring 54 is securedV to the inner end of the valve stem 455 and abuts against theadjacent wall of the cylinder 40. The spring 54 has lsomewhat greater tension than the spring 49. fl

A haft 56 is mounted in a suitable bearing 57 which projects outwardly from the base plate 10, One end of the shaft is provided with a lever arm v58 which projects loosely through the eye 59 of the cap 51, and at its opposite end is provided with a second arm 60 -to which is secured one end of the ratchet pawl 61. The opposite end of thispawlfis turned inwardly, asshown at 62, to engage the teeth of the annular ratchet gear 17 and is held in engagement with such teeth by means of' a leaf spring 63 secured to a post 64 projecting outwardly from the base plate 10. A guide 65 projecting 'inwardly from one side of the housing 66 holds `the inner end of the pawl 61 in registry with theteeth of the ratchet gear. A second pawl 67,`pivoted upon the post 68,*.is held 1n contact with the ratchet gear" by means of a spring 69 and prevents reverse rotation of inder through the pipe 41,\atmospheric pressure exerted -upon the outer face of the piston 43 and the outer end of the piston rod will cause the piston 43 to move inwardly against the tension of the spring 53. Atmospheric4 pressure exerted upon the outer face of the valve 47 will hold it closed until the increasing tension of the springl 54 vbecomes great enough to overcome this pressure and the pressure of the spring 49, where- .upon the valve 47 will be opened, thereby ybalancing the atmospheric pressures upon yseat the valve 47 upon the end of the piston rod 44, whereupon the suction of the pipe 41 will again reduce the pressure in the cylinder 40 and cause the piston to again move inwardly. This cycle is repeated in rapid succession, and causes the annular gear 17 `to move around continuously under 89 fthe rapid impulsesfimparted to it by the pa-wl 6l. It will of course, be clear that by restricting the suction in pipe 41 by means of the valve 42, the rate of vibration of the piston 43, and consequently the rate of travel of the annular lgear 17, can be controlled, as desired. This, as explained above, will lessenthe number of strokes of the Wiper arm or arms during a given period,` but will in no way 1affect the speed of t-hese arms during their Working strokes.

In Figures 5, 6 and 7, I have illustrated a modified form of my invention in which the suction actuated motor of Figures 1 to 4 inclusive is replaced'by an electric motor, the remaining Aportions of the apparatus 'remaining substantially the same as in Figures 1 to 4`inclusive. L

This electric motor comprises a suitable solenoid 70 wrapped around a tube 71 of non-magnetic material andencased in a. cylindrical iron housing 72 having` the removable iron end closure 73 and an integral iron end closure 74. The end closure 73 is provided with an inwardly extending boss 75 to increase the pull on the iron plunger 76 which is provided at its outer end with an eye 59', corresponding to the eye 59 of the modification previously described. Spiral spring 77 interposed between a ,flange 78 extending from the outer end of the plunger 76 and a flange 79 projecting from'l the cylindrical housing 7 2 provides means for returning the plunger 76 to the posltion shown in Figure 7.

. From the above description, it` will be clear that if the solenoid is periodically supplied with current, the plunger 76 will first move into the solenoid under the influence of t-he magnetic field developed thereby, and then, when the supply of current to the solenoid is interrupted, will move outwardly under the influence of the spring 77.

The reeiprocation of the plunger 76 "will beV communicated to the ratchet wheel 17 through the shaft 56, arm 58, arm 60, and the pawl 61, just as in the prior modification. In the present case, however, the Vpawl 61 is not connected *directly to the arm 60 but tov a bar 80, one end ofw which is pivotally secured to the outer end of the arm 60, and

the other end of which pivot-ally secured to one arm of the bell crank lever 81, which in turn is pivotally mounted upon a bracket 82 projecting upwardly from the base 10. A contact arni is also pivotally mounted upon the outer end of the bracket 82 anda tension spring 84 connects the other end of the bell crank lever'8l with an intermediate part ofthe contact arm 83, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. The free end of the contact arm 83 is provided with a contact 85 which bridges the two contacts 86 and 87 connected respectively with the binding posts 88 Iand From the above description, it willbe clear that as the 4plunger 76 moves into thev sole- `noid, this movement will be communicated to the bar 80, which will move ind a direction to cause not only the" annular gear 17 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, but to also cause the bell crank lever 81 to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction, and that a point will be reached where the point of con-V 11ection.bctween the spring 84 and the bell crank lever 81 lies above a line passing through the point of connection of theopposite end yof the -spring 84 with the lever 83 and the center of the pivot point of the lever 83. Vhile the bell crank lever is moving "into this position, the spring 84 is being placed under tension, and when it reaches the position just described, the tension of the spring will cause the lever 83 to rotate in a-clock-wise direction, thus lifting the bridging contact 85 from the two contacts 86 and 87, which arej connected in Series with the solenoid 70. The circuit of this 84, jthe tension of the spring will .be exerted to return the lever 83 to its initial position, thus causing the contact 85 to bridge the two contacts 86 and 87 and re-establish thecircuit ofthe solenoid. The above cycle of events isrepeated in rapid succession, thus causing the annular gear 17 to rotate comparatively slowly .but continuously.

1 In themodified form of my inventionjillus- ,trated in Figure 8, I have replaced the` motors of the two preceding embodiments by an electric motor 90 of the rotary type,. the shaft .91 of whichl is connected with a shaft 92 journaled in bearings 93and 94 pro'ecting .outwardly from the'base plate 10 y means of the bevelfgears 95 and96. Inplace of a ratchet wheel in this embodiment of my invention, I rovide an annular worm wheel 97 which is riven by the worm 98 formed on the shaftl 92. This provides means for continuously rotating the annular gear 97 in one direction. Otherwise, this construction is similar to' that shpwn in the remaining figures ofthe drawings.

While I have illustrated and described th details of constructionv of certain preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be clearly understoodthat m invention is not limited to these details, `ut is 'capable of tether adaptations and modifications within. the scope of the appended claims.

.Having thus described my invention, what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Operating AmeansI for a windshield` cleaner comprising a base plate, a boss projecting from said base plate, said bossgand base plate having a bore extending therethrough, a shaft journaled in saidbore, a crank disk secured to the inner end of said shafhtaa in extendingthrough saidcrank disk and mt'o said boss, said boss being. provided with two s 'aced openings for alternately receiving t e end of said pin, a leaf 'spring having one end secured to said discF and the other end projecting outside the periphery of said crank diskhsaid pin being secured to said leaf spring intermediate the ends of said leaf spring, an eccentric pin carried by said crank disk, an annular gear journaled concentric with said shaft, a pin extending from one face of said gear, a tension spring connecting said lastnamed, pin and saideccentric pin,means for rotating said annular gear, and means carried by said annular gear for lifting the lprojecting end of said leaf spring when said tension spring is'tensioned Y 2. Operating means for a windshield cleaner comprising a base'plate, a boss proa 'ecting from saidbase plat, said boss vand, base plate having a bore extending ,therethrough, a shaft journaled in said bore, Aa ,crank disk secured to the inner end of said shaft, a pin extending through "said crank disk and into` saidl boss, said boss being. provided ywith two' spaced openin for alters nately receiving the endv of xsai pin, a leaf spring having one end 'secured tosaid disc and the other end projecting outsideJ the periphery of said crank disk, said pin being secured to said leaf spring, an eccentric pin carried by said crank disk, an annular gear Journaled concentric with said shaft, a pin extending from one face of said gear, a tensionsprmg connecting said last namedpin and said eccentric pim-means for rotating said annular gear, and means carried by said annular gear for lifting the projecting end of said leaf spring when said tension spring is tensioned. I 3. Operating means for a windshield cleaner comprising a base plate, said base plate having a bore extending therethrough a shaft journaled in said bore, a crank disk secured to thesinner end of said shaft, av

pin extending through said crank disk and into said base plate, said base plate being h-pin carried by said crank disk, an. annular gear journaledv concentric with said shaft, a pin extending from one face of said gear,

a tension spring connecting said last named pin and said eccentriepln, means for rotating said annular gear, and means carried by said annular gear for'lifting the projecting end of said leaf rspring when said tension spring` is tensioned.y a n 4. perating means for a `Windshield cleaner comprising afbase `vplate, a shaft journaled in said plateyan eccentric pin carried ,by one end Lof said shaft, a gear journaled concentric with said shaft,a pin carried by said gear, a tension spring connecting said last named pin and said eccentric pin, a motor carried by. said baseplate for rotating` said annular gear, and means for alternately holding said shaft against the tension of said spring and permitting it to rotate under the tension of said spring, said last named means being controlled by said annular gear.

5. Operating means for a windsmee cleaner comprising a base plate, ya shaft j-ournaled in said plate, an eccentric pin carried-by one end of said shaft a gearkjournaled concentric with said shaft, a pin carried by` said gear, a tension spring connecting said last named pin and said eccentric in a motor for rotating said annular rear and means for alternately holding said shaft against the vtension of said spring,l and permitting it to rotate under the tension of said spring. v 6. In operating means for a windshield l2 cleaner` a rotatable element, a second rotatable element, resilient means joining said elements and adapted to be positioned to rotate the second element in alternate directions, a motor arranged to rotate said first mentioned element to tension said resilient means, means for preventing rotation of said second element, and means carried by said first velement for releasing said holding means.

7. In operatingmeans for a. windshield cleaner,'a rotatable driving disc, a rotatable driven disc., resilient means joining said discs and adapted to be successively positioned to rotate'tlie second element in alternate directions, a motor for actuating said driving disc to place said resilient means and tension the same, means for holding said driveiidisc against rotation during the placingnand tensioning ofthe resilient means, and means for releasing said holding means.

8. In operating means for a windshield l cleaner, a rotatable driving disc, a rotatable driven disc .concentric therewith, resilient means joining said discs off center and movable under tension across center to rotate the driven disc, a motor for rotating said driving disc to place said Aresilient means under tension and move it across center,

means for holding said driven l'disc againstrotation, and means carried by said driving disc for releasing said holding means topermit said driven disc to be rotated `alternately in opposite directions by said resilient means.

9. In operating means for a windshield cleaner, a rotatable driving disc, a rotatable driven disc mounted concentric therewith, resilient means joining said discs and adapted to be placed under tension in two positions for effecting reverse rotation of the driven disc, a motor for rotating said driving disc to place said resilient means under tension. holding means for preventing rotation of'said driven, disc, anda pair of cams formed' on said driving disc for releasing said tensioned resilient means alternately from its two positions.

10. Operating means for a windshield cleaner comprising an oscillatory-member, a driving member concentric with and rotatable about the first member, a spring connected/at one end eccentricalljT to the first member and at its' opposite end tothe driving member beyond the periphery of said first-member whereby uponv relative rotary movement between the members the spring will move across the axis of rotation and be tensioned as it approaches the axis, said spring acting successively to expend the stored-up energy first before the spring crosses the axis of rotation and then again after the spring crosses said axis thereby tov impart an oscillatory movement to the first member, and means for' permitting said spring to so act successively.

11. In operating means for a windshield cleaner, a pair of members rotatable about a common axis, means for restricting the movement of one member to a part of a circle, a coiled. spring connecting the two members at eccentric points on each whereby relative rotary movement of the members will position the spring and store up energy therein to be subsequently expended in effecting a movement of the restricted member first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, means for rotating the other of said rotatable members in one direction only, and means cooperating with the restricting means for arresting movement of the restricted member until the spring has been properly positioned to function.

12. In operating means for a windshield cleaner, a driving member, a driven oscillatable member, a spring connecting the driving member to a point eccentric on'I the driven member, said driven member movingv the spring from one side of the axis of the driven member to the opposite side thereof and tensioning the spring by and duringA such movement whereby said spring may operate said driven member before and after crossing said axis, means for releasably hold-V ing the driven member against movement i while the spring is being positioned' and tensioned, and means under thecontrol of -the driving member for rendering the holding means inoperative successively both before and after the springcrosses the aforesaid axis to permitof the spring moving the driven member in opposite directions.

13'. In operating means for a Windshield cleaner, an. oscillatable member, a latch for securing the same at each limit of its path of movement, a gear member rotatable about the axis of said Hrst member and operable to periodically render the latch inoperative, a spring disposed at one side of the gear and connected at one endecc'entrically to the gearv and at its opposite end to the oscillaf table member, said gear acting to tension 'tlie zxis. of rotation upon relative rotary movement between said first and second members, said spring being tensioned by and during such movement across the axis, means for rotating the second member to tension and position the spring, means for holding the rstmember against movement at one limit of its travel ing tensioned, and mea While the'spring is ns for releasing the first member during the tensioning of the spring whereby the latter will move the first 5 member to its opposite limit jof movement, said second member following up the first member and acting to m0 ve the spring under tension across the axis of rotation, after the first member has reached said opposite limit. to effect a return oscillation or movement of 10 the aforesaid first member.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 3d day of February, 1922.

EARL F. PIERCF- 

